Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in Herefordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 1 SC062074 Registered provider: Keys Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children aged 11 to 17 years with complex needs. A private provider operates the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has managed the home since August 2017 and is suitably qualified.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/06/2021 Full Good 30/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/05/2018 Full Good 08/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a listed building and provides accommodation on three floors. Some of the rooms are unusual shapes but are warm, clean and comfortably furnished. Books and games are evident in the home, and the children can relax with the resident cat. There is space at the front of the home for outside play or barbecues in the warmer weather. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy online gaming, shopping and some have been introduced to cycling by staff. Children have been encouraged to safely increase their free time and can now enjoy spending time with their friends. Commendably, one young person has held down a part-time job for over six months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them when it is safe for them to do so. For some children, complex family circumstances have led to arrangements changing. Staff have advocated on children’s behalf about the importance of family time for them and the need for suitable arrangements for family time to be put in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children’s health needs are met by staff supporting them to attend routine appointments and seeking specialist support if it is needed. Staff try to be creative in engaging children who find such appointments difficult, but they have not always been successful in their attempts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is seen as important, and children are supported to attend school or to have suitable alternative arrangements put in place. Children are encouraged to think about their futures and what they want to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who left the home since the last inspection moved on in a planned way, and some young people keep in touch with the staff after they have moved

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been few occasions when children have gone missing from this home since the last inspection. Policies are in place to guide staff if children do go missing and these have generally been followed, although in one instance there was a delay in a child being reported to police while staff looked for them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager and staff team work closely with other professionals, including the local authority and the police, to reduce risks for children and keep them safe. Restrictive practices are kept under review and reduced or removed when possible. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 4 Documents are not always updated when changes occur and therefore may not provide staff with up-to-date advice and guidance. Risk assessments recorded that sensors on children’s bedroom doors are used for all children currently living in the home. However, the sensors have not been used for some months. In addition, a missing protocol for one child did not reflect that they now are allowed free time and spend time with friends, which could be relevant if they did not return home when expected. This means staff may not be aware of the most up-to-date assessment and practice in place for children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in, and up to date with, the home’s preferred method of physical intervention. Physical intervention is rarely used with only one, very low-level intervention taking place since the last inspection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Health and safety checks are in place and completed in a timely way. Actions identified following a fire risk assessment, such as fitting additional smoke alarms and adjusting a fire door for a staff member sleeping in a room, have all been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable, and most have worked in the home for a number of years. Staff say they enjoy their work, support each other and enjoy working together. They say the manager is supportive and that supervision takes place regularly. However, staff feel able to seek additional advice and support if needed between formal supervision sessions. All staff are suitably qualified or registered on a relevant course. Safeguarding, first aid and physical intervention training is all up to date, although staff noted they would prefer a return to more face-to-face, rather than online training. Safer recruitment arrangements are in place to reduce the risk of unsuitable people working with children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children describe the home as good and say they get on well with staff. They attend weekly group meetings that are used to discuss issues such as the internet, fire safety or bullying, as well as agreeing menus for the week ahead. There are some examples of children’s views being discussed. For example, children have asked for new sofas in the lounge. However, there is limited evidence of children contributing to the development of the home or influencing its day-to-day running.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s guide is written in child-friendly language and uses humour to explain expectations about behaviour in a non-threatening way. Children know how to make a complaint and when they do, they are listened and responded to. However, letters to children following a complaint are not written in simple, or child-friendly language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the children well and has effective oversight of their care and the progress they are making. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff assess any risk of harm to children and take steps to reduce such risk particularly in relation to risk assessments being accurate and up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 41, paragraph 12. 2)  The registered person should ensure that children are helped to understand how their wishes, views and feelings have been taken into account, particularly in relation to how the outcome of complaints made by them is shared with them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 20, paragraph 7. 1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Second Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspector

Janet Fraser, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC062074 7 inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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Inspector

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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